Employment and Training Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Secretary of Labor signed the annual certifications under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, thereby enabling employers who make contributions to state unemployment funds to obtain certain credits against their liability for the federal unemployment tax. By letter, the certifications were transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury. The letter and certifications are printed below.

The Department of Labor (DOL), as part of its effort to streamline information collection, clarify statutory and regulatory requirements, and provide greater oversight in the H-2A labor certification program, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). This program helps ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. In accordance with the PRA, ETA, within DOL, is providing the public notice and opportunity to comment on proposed revisions to the application Form ETA-9142A, H-2A Application for Temporary Employment Certification; Form ETA-9142A, Appendix A; and the general instructions to those forms. ETA is also seeking public comment on a proposal to eliminate the issuance of paper-based labor certification decisions through the creation of a one-page Form ETA-9142A, Final Determination: H-2A Temporary Labor Certification Approval, which will be issued electronically to employers granted temporary labor certification by DOL. Lastly, ETA is also seeking public comment on a proposal to implement a revised agricultural clearance order that will be integrated with the Form ETA-9142A. The proposed Form ETA-790/790A, H- 2A Agricultural Clearance Order, and addenda, provide language to employers to disclose necessary information including, but not limited to, the following: (1) The type of agricultural services or labor needed, number of workers, duration of employment, and minimum qualifications or requirements of the job; (2) the place(s) where work will be performed and the wage rate(s) that will be offered, advertised, and paid to workers in each crop or agricultural activity, as well as any other conditions or deductions from pay not required by law; (3) basic information regarding the geographic location, type, capacity, and applicable standards of the housing for workers; and (4) other required disclosures concerning the provision of meals, transportation and daily subsistence, referral and hiring instructions, and any other material terms and conditions of the job offer. The proposed Form ETA-790/790A will be submitted to the State Workforce Agency (SWA) for review and in advance of filing Form ETA-9142A. A copy of Form ETA-790/790A will then be attached by the employer at the time of filing Form ETA-9142A. The information collected on the ETA-790/790A is used to determine whether the material terms and conditions of employment do not adversely affect similarly employed U.S. workers and, if approved, facilitate the recruitment of U.S. workers through the intrastate and interstate job clearance systems of the SWA. This proposal will consolidate information collected through the agricultural clearance order Form ETA-790, which is currently authorized under OMB Control Number 1205-0134, into the agency's primary H-2A information collection requirements under OMB Control Number 1205-0466. This consolidation and revision will align all data collection for the H-2A program under a single OMB approved information collection request (ICR). The information collection for each existing form was approved on June 3, 2016 and expires May 31, 2019. A copy of the proposed ICR can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addresses section of this notice.

The Department of Labor's (DOL's) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension for the authority to conduct the information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund Activities Reports.'' This comment request is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).

The Department of Labor's (DOL's) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension for the authority to conduct the information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Unemployment Insurance (UI) Title XII Advances and Voluntary Repayment Process.'' This comment request is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).

The Department of Labor's (DOL's), Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension for the authority to conduct the information collection request (ICR) titled ``Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees Handbook No. 391.'' This comment request is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).

The Department of Labor (DOL), as part of its effort to streamline information collection, clarify statutory and regulatory requirements, and provide greater transparency and oversight of the H- 2B labor certification program, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This program helps ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), ETA, within DOL, is providing the public notice and opportunity to comment on proposed revisions to the H-2B Foreign Labor Certification Program information collection. The information collection for each existing form was approved on December 31, 2015 and expires December 31, 2018. A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

The Department of Labor (DOL or Department), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This program helps ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. Currently, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning its proposal to extend the approval of this information collection. Current expiration of the information collection is November 30, 2018.

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor (Department) is adopting as a final rule without change the interim final rule (IFR) published by the Department in the Federal Register on December 1, 2017. The IFR revised performance accountability measures for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). The Older Americans Act (OAA) Reauthorization Act of 2016 (2016 OAA) amended the measures of performance for the SCSEP program in large part to align them with the performance measures mandated for programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and required implementation, including through regulation by December 31, 2017. The IFR revised the Performance Accountability subpart of the SCSEP regulations to reflect changes necessitated by the passage of the 2016 OAA. In addition, the IFR made minor, non- substantive amendments to other subparts of the SCSEP regulations to reflect the 2016 OAA amendments that aligned the SCSEP program statutory language with WIOA, such as updating outdated terminology and outdated references to the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), which WIOA superseded. The implemented regulations, referred to as an IFR, took effect on January 2, 2018. The Department solicited public comment on the IFR, and the Department considered these comments when it prepared this final rule.

This notice announces a change in benefit period eligibility under the EB program for the Virgin Islands. The following change has occurred since the publication of the last notice regarding the Virgin Islands' EB status: The Virgin Islands' 13-week insured unemployment rate for the week ending June 2, 2018, was below the 5.00 percent threshold. Therefore, the EB period for the Virgin Islands will end on June 23, 2018. The State will remain in an ``off'' period for a minimum of 13 weeks.

The Department of Labor's (DOL's) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension for the authority to conduct the information collection request (ICR) titled ``ETA 9161Self Employment Assistance (Regular Program).'' This comment request is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).

The Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) is making this announcement to inform employers and other interested stakeholders how H-2B Applications for Temporary Employment Certification, Form ETA-9142B, filed by employers on or after July 3, 2018, will be assigned to staff.

The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, has decided to increase the numerical limitation on H-2B nonimmigrant visas to authorize the issuance of up to an additional 15,000 through the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. This increase is based on a time-limited statutory authority and does not affect the H-2B program in future fiscal years. The Departments are promulgating regulations to implement this determination.

Title I of WIOA (Pub. L. 113-128) requires the U.S. Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to update and publish the LLSIL tables annually, for uses described in the law (including determining eligibility for youth). WIOA defines the term ``low income individual'' as one whose total family income does not exceed the higher level of the poverty line or 70 percent of the LLSIL. This issuance provides the Secretary's annual LLSIL for 2018 and references the current 2018 Health and Human Services ``Poverty Guidelines.''

The Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension for the authority to conduct the information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Reintegration of Ex-Offenders Adult Reporting System.'' This comment request is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and its implementing regulations, notice is hereby given to announce the final public meeting of the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion on Thursday, May 10, 2018. The Task Force is a FACA committee established by Presidential Executive Order that is charged with identifying strategies and proposals to promote and expand apprenticeships, especially in sectors where apprenticeship programs are insufficient. The Task Force is solely advisory in nature, and will consider reports, comments, research, evidence, and existing practices as appropriate to develop recommendations for inclusion in its final report to the President. To achieve its mission, the Task Force will convene its final meeting in person.

The Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension for the authority to conduct the information collection request (ICR) titled, ``O*NET Data Collection Program'' (expires September 30, 2018). This comment request is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is issuing this Notice to announce the annual update to the allowable charges that employers seeking H-2A workers in occupations other than range herding may charge their workers when the employer provides three meals a day and the maximum travel subsistence meal reimbursement that a worker with receipts may claim under the H-2A and H-2B programs. The Notice also includes a reminder regarding employers' obligations with respect to overnight lodging costs as part of required subsistence.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and its implementing regulations, notice is hereby given to announce the fourth public meeting of the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion on Tuesday, April 10, 2018. The Task Force is a FACA committee established by Presidential Executive Order that is charged with identifying strategies and proposals to promote and expand apprenticeships, especially in sectors where apprenticeship programs are insufficient. The Task Force is solely advisory in nature, and will consider reports, comments, research, evidence, and existing practices as appropriate to develop recommendations for inclusion in its final report to the President. To achieve its mission, the Task Force will convene one additional in-person meeting on Thursday, May 10, 2018.

The Department of Labor (DOL or Department), ETA, Office of Job Corps, is issuing a Final Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) regarding the proposed rehabilitation or replacement of buildings at the Gulfport Job Corps Center (JCC) in Gulfport, Mississippi.